FSC GEF project brings new resources to smallholders in the tropics

Cameroon © FSC/ Richard Robertson

Frank Katto, the international coordinator of the GEF project at FSC, launched the French version of the “Step-by-step guide – good practice guide to meeting FSC certification requirements for Biodiversity and High Conservation Value Forests in Small and Low Intensity Managed Forests (SLIMFs)”.

Alongside Mr. Katto, Marie Mbolo from FSC Cameroon illustrated the effectiveness of using the guide in the Congo Basin region in a presentation of the outcomes of field tests in two community forests in Cameroon.

GEF project objectives:

1. Identify and protect High
    Conservation Values (HCVs),
    especially biodiversity values in 
    SLIMFs in the tropics
2. Increase access and reduce
    barriers to certification for 
    SLIMFs
3. Develop innovative funding
    mechanisms to provide 
    improved incentives for the 
    conservation of biodiversity 
    through SLIMF certification

The good practice guide is designed to help small-scale and low intensity forest operations (SLIMFs) to meet certification requirements through the process of identification, maintenance and monitoring of biodiversity and HCVFs. Beyond the GEF project’s anticipated benefits for community forests and smallholders, it is also likely to be a valuable resource for larger operations.

On 1-3 September 2009, more than 50 stakeholders from the Congo Basin assembled in Douala to reach consensus on the second draft of the sub-regional forest management standard. At the WWF and GTZ funded workshop, the Congo Basin Standard-Development Working Group agreed to incorporate the guide as a useful addition to the standard for the region.

The development of a regional approach is a unique way forward that takes advantage of the regional synergies and similarities of local conditions. The Congo Basin Standard-Development Working Group includes representatives of social, environmental and economic interests from each of the four countries: Cameroon, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of Congo.

The good practice guide is one of several anticipated resources from the FSC GEF project on improved certification systems for sustainable tropical forest management. Currently available in English and French, FSC is working to make this document available in Spanish and Portuguese.

For further information on the GEF project, visit www.fsc.org/GEF.html. 

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